Home / Chapter 5 Older people / Labour
The Tories are the party
The Tories are the party of pensioner poverty.When they left
office in 1997, one in four pensioners was living in poverty and
the poorest pensioners were expected to get by on just £69 a
week.They would phase out the Pension Credit and abolish the
State Second Pension, hurting most those most in need.When
the one thing we all need is certainty, the Tories have admitted
they have absolutely no plans for how to fund their pensions policy
beyond four years.The choice is whether we go forward with
new Labour with today’s pensioners provided for and poverty
falling, a national consensus on fair and sustainable long-term
reformand the policies to give older people enhanced rights and
choices. Or back with the Tories to rising levels of pensioner
poverty and unending insecurity for tomorrow’s pensioners.